


Before Sunrise

by marissalyn14



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, SuperCorp, the before sunrise au no one asked for, tiny bits of angst but mostly just feel good romance and meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-21 00:10:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18134270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marissalyn14/pseuds/marissalyn14
Summary: Lena is on her way back to Ireland for the reading of her father's will when she meets a stranger on the train that convinces her to spend the night walking around Glasgow with her.





	Before Sunrise

12 hours after sunrise

You sat before your father’s lawyers as they read out his will to the room.

Lex was getting a third of the Luthor fortune, your father’s firebird that was in mint condition, and the private jet. 

Your mother was entitled to her portion of the inheritance, the Luthor manor in Cork, and its staff.

As for you, you were left with the remaining funds, and the family cabin up in the swiss alps. Unlike your mother and brother who were arguing over what was left to them in the will, you were still mourning your father’s passing. Along with the only fond memories of your childhood lay the past twenty four hours. Wavy blonde hair and lips stained red from your own. The taste of wine and the strange woman still on your tongue. You smile sadly at the remembrance of both the woman and your father, some year you have been having. 

You slowly stand to your feet, allowing the chair you were sitting in to roll back noiselessly. 

Your mother’s eyes landed on you all the same, frown well pronounced and brow stern as always, “Where are you going?” She asked you at your immediate desire to leave the room. 

“Back to the hotel.” You say, gathering your copy of the will and slipping it back into the opening of your purse. “I think we all got what we wanted today mother, I would like to relax some before having to get back to work in the states.” For one of the first times in your life you didn’t wait for her response, instead you left the conference room and headed out into the crisp and wet Cork evening, and began the long trek to hail a cab to the closest hotel. 

The past twenty four hours had to be some of the most reckless yet thrilling moments in your life thus far. Between getting off the train with a complete stranger, to the moment when you realized just how easily you could fall in love with said stranger. It was just all too good to be true, wasn’t it? It had to be, after all you were a Luthor and nobody ever stuck around for long, but you couldn’t help but think that maybe just maybe that wouldn’t be true this time. Hell, stranger things have happened, hense where this whole “relationship” began, if you could even really call it that. 

By the time you reached your hotel room, you lay back on the stiff mattress and stared at the ceiling. Memories of bright blue eyes and dimples as deep as teaspoons flashed back and forth beneath closed eyelids. You had to do something, you knew this, but you were afraid. What if she wasn’t there? What if she didn’t feel the same way as you? There was only one way to find out the answers to these questions that wouldn’t leave you regretting not knowing for the rest of your life. It was always worth risking, whether it was for love or business, that was always something your father had told you. 

You decided to listen to him this time and jump.

16 hours before sunrise

Trains were probably one of the most peaceful ways of transport, if not the best. You always preferred them to stuffy busses and subways, dirty taxis, and steril airplanes. Unfortunately most of the trains in the states were strictly used for cargo if at all these days, which left you longing for your vacations in the Europe countryside.

You were on your way back to your hometown of Cork, Ireland for the reading of your father’s will. He’s been gone for three months now, his coffin not long enough in the ground for the cold autumn to have allowed any grass to grow over it. You chewed at your thumbnail, nail polish threatening to chip beneath your teeth. 

Your eyes trailed back down to the book that sat in your lap unopened, the spine not even cracked as your bookmarks lay undrafted in the bottom of your purse. You hadn’t allowed yourself much alone time since your father’s passing, throwing yourself headfirst into your research for a better world; a world where your father wouldn’t have died. If only you had figured out the cure for cancer sooner, maybe your father wouldn’t have suffered a severe case of astrocytoma, a brain cancer that had all began two years ago when a tumor was discovered at the base of his spine, and then again later in the cerebellum. 

No matter how hard you tried to lessen the pain by thinking in scientific terms, it had yet to find a way to lessen the memory. The memories of you receiving a phone call from your brother because your mother couldn’t do it herself, finding out that she had kept it from you for months after the first tumor, and how you rushed home to find your father damn near drowning in his flimsy and thin gown, as he lay balmy and weak in his private room on the top floor of the hospital. 

You could never forgive your mother for her decision of “protecting you” as she called it. Claiming that you needed to stay focused on building L-Corp and less on your sick father who you could save if you worked fast enough. The words cut you like knives as you stood stunned in her wake, appalled at who your mother had turned into over the years, and just how cruel she had become once your father grew ill. 

You had convinced yourself that this would be the last time you would ever be in the same room as your mother, unless she was in a body bag and you had to identify the jane doe; though you figured you would never be so lucky for that day to ever come. 

Settling back in your seat so as to get more comfortable, you find your eyes wandering around the cab. It was relatively full, though most people had switched out at the most recent stop in Edinburgh. You had been on this train since the late part of the morning after your flight in to London. You took a redeye the night before as per your preference of flying and was now heading to Glasgow to get on your family’s private jet to take the short trip over to Cork. 

Another reason you suppose you haven’t been able to pick up your book was due to the arguing couple across the aisle from you. Bickering back and forth in French, something about how the husband had gotten them to the train station late and now they were going to miss the wife’s best friend’s wedding. 

You rolled your eyes, picking up the paperback in your lap and flipping it open to the first page. You attempted to read the first few pages in the lull of silence the french couple had granted the train cab before the wife burst out into hysterics. You sighed heavily, closing the book once more with your thumb holding your place. Tapping your fingers lightly against the cover you debated getting up and moving seats to what you would hope would be a much quieter section. 

After a few more moments of listening to the couple yammer on about taxi fares and the price of hotels around the wedding venue, you quickly stand to your feet and grab your purse and your overnight bag that was in the luggage space above you. Hoping to make a bit of commotion so that the couple would at least acknowledge that you were moving because of them, but of course they paid you no mind as you slipped past them and began searching for a new seat. 

You move over towards the back of the car and throw your bag up into a space above an empty row of seating, before sitting down with your shoulder pressed up against the cool framing around the window. Just as you settle back into your book, you hear the french couple grow closer as their arguing had yet to stop this time. You watched as the husband pretty much fled from the cab as the wife quickly followed, not even stopping for air as she continued on and on about how they hadn’t had sex in months. 

This time you giggle, thanking your lucky stars that you had dumped James a year ago and no longer had to worry about all of that. Your vibrator after all was always able to get you off much faster and more enjoyably than he ever could, and now you no longer had to feel guilty about it. 

“Hey, do you know what they were arguing about?”

You snap out of your thoughts at the questioning voice. You look over at the row of seats across the aisle from you and spot a blonde in her mid twenties, a thick blue knit sweater making her look soft and warm, hair pulled back into a messy bun, and glasses adorning her face. 

You feel your face redden, sitting up straight and smoothing your hands over your jeans. “I’m sorry I don’t; my french is a bit rusty.” 

The blonde nods before her brows furrowed in confusion. Just as she is about to speak however, the rude french couple return, still arguing as they make their way back to their seats. 

You shake your head at the couple before turning back to your book. If you could just make it to chapter two you would consider it a victory.

“Say, I was just thinking about heading to the lounge car if you wanted to join me?” The blonde spoke again, her face lightly pinkening as you turned back to face her once more. 

You’re not quite sure why you agree to go with her, but you’re guessing it had something to do with the woman’s blush and innocence that enveloped her. It didn’t seem like it was an act, so you stuff your lost cause of a book back into your purse and stand to grab your bag before following her out into the next car over. 

“So where’d you learn how to speak French?” The blonde asks you, as you both find a table to sit at. 

“I’m sorry?” You ask, confused at the question. 

“You understood what that couple back there was arguing about.” The blonde says matter of factly, a smirk plastered across her face in triumph. 

You feel yourself blush a bit. “Maybe I did.” You say, not at all wanting to give the woman her win. “Or maybe you’re just entirely too full of yourself.” 

“But you did, and I am not.” The blonde says, holding out her hand for you to shake. “I never introduced myself, I’m Kara Danvers.”

You take her hand in yours for a firm shake, “Lena Luthor.” You say before you can cut yourself off. 

Kara’s smile is warm, if she knows your last name she doesn’t say anything. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

You’re stunned into silence for a moment as a waiter comes out to hand you menus. It isn’t entirely lost on you just how gorgeous Kara is. 

“So I didn’t notice you on the train for that long, I’m guessing you got on back in Edinburgh?” You ask as you look over the menu.

“I did, yeah.” 

“Visiting family, or?” At Kara’s curious look you chuckle, “I can’t imagine you have a Scottish bone in your body, at least not a local that’s for sure.” 

Kara gave off a look of horror, before quickly wiping at her face, “Oh no, is my American showing again? I meant to cover it up when I got on the train.” 

You find yourself giggling at her antics as the waiter comes back to take your order. “Just a coffee, thanks.” You say, handing back over the menu. 

“I’ll have the full English breakfast and the juice with the most sugar in it please.” 

After the waiter leaves you give Kara an inquisitive look, “With the most sugar?” 

Kara nods, “I have low blood sugar.” 

You’re not quite sure what it was about this girl that you found charming, but you were determined to figure it out. “So what were you doing in Edinburgh if you weren’t visiting anyone? On vacation?” 

“If we’re playing 21 questions you’re already out like four questions.” Kara jokes, “Otherwise I feel like this is a shake down or something.” 

You blush once more, apologizing for your rudeness. “I’m sorry, I’m just so used to being very forward with people.”

“I don’t mind.” Kara says, before continuing, “As long as I get to ask some of my own questions.”

You raise a brow, “Be my guest.” 

Kara’s eyes fix on you for what is probably a moment longer than what is considered friendly, before clearing her throat and straightening her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “Right.” 

“You had a question?” You teased. 

“Well I can answer yours first, I’m not a monster.” Kara said. She thanked the waiter as he sat a glass of apple juice down in front of her, before watching you take your coffee between both hands to warm them. 

“Basically I’ve been riding the trains for about two weeks now.” Kara says before drinking half the juice in one go. 

You take a sip of your coffee before setting it down on the table, still keeping it between your hands. “Well have you been enjoying the countryside then?”

“You’re not going to put any sugar or creamer in that?” Kara asked, stunned at your black coffee. 

You shake your head the smallest bit before taking another sip, hiding a satisfied groan at just how much it soothed your dry throat. 

Kara made a disgusted face before answering you. “It is very beautiful here. America has it’s sites for sure, but this is just, I mean _wow_.” She pointed out the window at all the rolling green pastures that flew past. “A girl could get lost in just how dreamy everything is here.” 

“Makes you not want to go home sometimes.” Lena agreed. 

“Exactly.” Kara said, her face showing that she understood exactly what you meant. 

Kara’s food came shortly thereafter and you watched as she stuffed her face full of beans and toast as you grimaced. You never understood that part of the dish, even if you were from Ireland; some things were just meant to stay in England. 

“So why have you been riding the trains so often?” You ask her, unable to keep the questions from spilling over between your lips. You were just so damn curious of this enigmatic woman that sat before you. You decided that it had to do with your desire to crack any code you hadn’t seen before, and this woman was one of them. Kara was definitely someone you wanted to get to know, and that was scary considering just how much of a stranger she was. 

Kara swallowed the food that was in her mouth, pausing for a drink before answering you. “I just got out of a pretty heavy breakup.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You supply, your interest now even more piqued. 

Kara shrugged, pushing around her runny yolks with her fork. “It was pretty mutual, or at least I thought it was before I broke up with him.” 

Him? You feel yourself deflate a bit, perhaps you had read this interaction entirely wrong. “I’m guessing he didn’t take it well.” You say. 

Kara frowned, “No, he didn’t.” She begins tearing her toast to dip into the eggs. “But it needed to happen, we just weren’t right for each other anymore. Maybe we never were.” 

“Soulmates are a bit outdated anyways.” You say, trying to comfort her in some way. She was clearly upset talking about this breakup. 

Kara looks up at you then, her eyes searching for something in yours you weren’t all too comfortable in finding out. You instead drop your gaze to your hands, bringing your mug back up to your lips before you could stick your foot in your mouth again. Who talked about soulmates to someone you just met? You could be sounding like a complete crazy person right now, and rightfully so. Sometimes even you believed you were. 

“I like to believe that there’s certain people out there for everyone.” Kara says in between bites of food. “Maybe you aren’t always right for each other, but perhaps we’re only meant for certain parts of each other’s lives. Maybe we aren’t meant to be there for them for forever.” 

You had never really thought of it like that, not that you had thought about the deep meaning of relationships and love in the past year. It was all a bit of a weak spot for you, after all James made it out to sound like you were a loveless and emotionless robot. Sometimes you leaned in to that part of yourself, it oftentimes was much easier than having to face your biggest fears. 

“Enough of me gabbing, do you have any questions for me?” You change the subject then, watching as Kara allows you the switch in conversation. 

“So why are you on a train to Glasgow?” She asks, now turning the tables on you. 

“Well I flew into London early this morning.” You say, “Now I’m on my way to Cork to attend the reading of my father’s will.” 

“I’m so sorry.” Kara quickly apologizes. “Here I am moaning on about a breakup when you’ve clearly been through worse.” 

You shrug, smiling at her kindness. “It’s quite alright. He passed away a few months back, the lawyers are just now getting to the end of things.” 

She nods, hesitating on a question she isn’t so sure she should ask. 

“He had brain cancer.” You answer her unasked inquiry. “Wasn’t much they could do towards the end except make him comfortable.” 

Across Kara’s face etched complete and utter sympathy. It was something you weren’t too familiar with, being around as many businessmen as you oftentimes were, and from a stranger nonetheless.

“That’s horrible. I’m not quite sure of what to say.” 

Kara’s words were calming and warm, something you were growing quite accustomed to in your short time shared together. 

As Kara finished up her meal, and you could see that the train was heading back into urban territories. The waiter came back to retrieve your dishes and recommended you return back into proper seating for the rest of the ride back into the city. 

You followed Kara back to your original seats and were delighted to find that the French couple were nowhere to be found. 

“Probably somewhere fucking it out. The wife was complaining about their shitty sex life after all.” Kara said at your wandering eyes.

You looked over at her in surprise as she turned into a fit of giggles. 

“I never said I couldn't speak French.” Kara said, again with the smirk from earlier making a return on her lips. 

Kara offered the seat beside her to you, and you immediately accepted. You weren’t quite ready to say goodbye yet. 

“So I have a crazy idea.” Kara starts off as soon as you get comfortable in the seat beside her. 

“And what is this _crazy_ idea?” You ask, a bit of mirth in your tone. 

“I feel like we have a connection here.” Kara starts off tentatively. 

You smile at her, “Yeah, me too.” 

Kara lets out a nervous breath in relief. “Great. So I don’t have anywhere to be until my flight tomorrow morning at 10, and I don’t really have any money for a hotel so I was just going to wander the streets of the city for the night and I thought maybe you could join me? I mean if you aren’t needing to get to Cork until tomorrow that is.”

You smile again at her rambling, scaring yourself at just how much you liked the idea she is propositioning you. “Lucky for you I don’t have to be at the lawyers’ office until tomorrow evening.”

Kara looked shocked, “Is that a yes?”

You again find yourself smiling even wider this time. “I think it is.” 

“You know, not gonna lie, you’re kinda crazy to agree to spend the night with a complete stranger.” Kara says teasingly but at the same time all too seriously. “I could be a secret serial killer for all you know.” 

You look her over, from her crystal clear blue eyes, to the stain from egg yolk on her sweater. “Something’s telling me that isn’t true.”

Kara’s eyes followed yours as she looked down at her sweater, “Oh shoot!” She quickly licked her thumb before attempting to clean away the stain, looking at you sheepishly. “My entire facade just cracked before your eyes.” 

You chuckled, shaking your head at her. “It’s cute.” 

You both quiet after that, before Kara clears her throat to break the silence. “So what do you think?”

You debate it for a second, mulling it over. You really didn’t have to be in Cork until the following night, and you were just going to spend the night in some expensive hotel and gorge yourself on room service. The idea of walking around the streets of Glasgow with a complete stranger felt kind of daring, and it was definitely something you wouldn’t normally find yourself doing. Mother would have a fit if she found out, hell so would James and your assistant Jess. However your other assistant Eve and your best friend Sam would definitely get a kick out of it, as would you. 

You looked over at Kara who was still trying to get the stain out of her sweater and you smiled harder than you had in a long time. You definitely were getting off this train with her, it was worth humoring for the night. “I’ll spend the night with you.” 

Kara’s brows nearly flew into her hairline at the statement, her face growing just as red as you felt yours turning. 

“I meant that I would walk around with you, keep you company.” You quickly reword it to not sound as pervy as you knew it came across.

Kara laughed, “Either way, I’m excited.” 

You tried to ignore the innuendo and unspoken words, instead focusing on the book Kara has been white knuckling the entire time you had spent with her. “So what is that anyways?” You ask her, “Reading anything interesting?”

Kara looked down at the book that was now sitting in her lap. “It’s more of a journal than it is a book.” 

“Oh.” You say, surprised. You hadn’t met too many people who kept a diary these days.

“I’ve just been keeping track off all the things I’ve come across while being here.” Kara said, pushing her glasses back up from where they had been beginning to slip. 

“Am I deserving of any pages in there?” You found yourself flirting effortlessly, it was kind of elating, like a weight that had been sitting so stubbornly on your chest was finally lifting; your ability to be carefree.

Kara looks you over as you feel the train beginning to slow down. “I haven’t decided yet.” Kara says before standing to her feet and holding out a hand to help you stand, “But I have a good feeling you’re going to take up more than a few pages.” She winks at you before grabbing down both of your bags and handing yours over to you. 

“Thank you.” You say as you watch her nod her head and pull her jacket on over her sweater, before heading towards the exit. “You coming?” She calls over her shoulder when she notices that you’re not behind her. 

You sling your bag over your shoulder and nod with a warm smile, this afternoon might just now hold the record for the most times you’ve smiled ever. “Right behind you.” 

“So where should we go first?” Kara asks as you climb onto the platform beside her. “Do you know this area well?” 

You shrug, “I know it well enough to get to my plane that takes me to Cork. I don’t really spend a whole lot of time over here, not since I was a child.” 

Kara, you have noticed, looks as though she hangs on to your every word. You can’t even begin to remember the last time someone had done that for you. “So where do you live then if not around here or in Ireland? You said you took a plane into London?”

You feel a bit bare at the question, a bit unsure of how much of your life you should reveal to Kara. You supposed a little bit couldn’t hurt. “I live in the states now, have been for the past six years.” 

Kara’s eyes light up at the mention of home. “I’m from Midvale, but I live in National City now. I work for Catco magazine, maybe you’ve heard of it?”

You find yourself yet shocked again by this strange woman, spilling all of her personal information to you so quickly. “I have.” You answer her with a nod. 

Kara smiles proudly, “I’ve been with Cat for oh, I guess three years now.” 

You have to admit your a bit impressed by the statement. Cat Grant was definitely someone people typically didn’t have a long term business relationship with. 

“I’m Cat’s personal assistant, but I have been trying to break into the world of journalism.” Kara continues firmly. 

Something clicks into place at the statement as you motion towards the book that had taken place in Kara’s coat pocket. “Hence the journal?”

Kara nodded, “I was hoping Cat might find some of it interesting, and if not who knows. At least I’ll have it as sort of a memento.” 

“A memento for the Autumn you were so depressed you had to come all the way to Europe in hopes to figure it all out?” You asked seriously. “I’d want to forget all about it.”

Kara looks over at you a bit stunned by the honesty. “Well maybe it’s not all worth forgetting.”

You truly didn’t get this woman, you thought as you followed after her. “So where are we going?”

“Well I figured we could just pick a direction and go with it.” Kara says casually as if she’s done it a dozen times before. “It’s sort of what I’ve been doing all month.” She stops in front of a cluster of maps plastered to the wall and begins looking them over. “What do you like the idea of better, chicken or burgers?”

“You’re already hungry again?” You ask in astonishment. 

“Well it’s a bit of a walk to either one so it’ll work up quite the appetite.” 

You laugh at her excuse before deciding, “Burgers sound good.” 

“Nice N’ Sleazy it is!” Kara declares before setting off in a direction. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“It’s a bar.” Kara says, backtracking to point at a poster beside the map, and surely enough there sat a poster advertising burgers and booze along with live music.

“That is a terrible name!” You laugh. 

“Or a terribly good one.” Kara debates.

“Lead the way.” You say after shaking your head at her. 

“Right this way.” Kara says, sweeping an arm out in front of her.

12 hours before sunrise

“So what got you into journalism anyhow?” You ask as you both sit wedged into a corner booth, hidden away from most of the clamor of the bar.

“I kind of always liked to write, but the idea of giving a voice to the person who had no way of speaking up has always been very important to me.” 

You watch as Kara shrugs, picking up her burger before motioning towards you. “What got you into being the CEO of L-Corp?” She tries and fails to keep a grin off her face as she asks. 

It doesn’t surprise you in the slightest that Kara knew exactly who you were. Hell, most people did, especially in the states. Even more so because of who she worked for, you’d sooner expect Cat Grant to choke on her own tongue before giving up the chance to gossip. Catco magazine after all could be seen as a bit of a tabloid mixed with themes of women empowerment articles. 

“Well, as I’m sure you already know, the original L-Corp is over in Dublin. My mother thought it would be a good idea to spread out over seas into the states to reach more of the demographic we were looking to work with.” 

“It would seem to be the smartest choice if you wanted to build more clientele, sure.”

You smiled at Kara’s carefree, but informative attitude. She knew her stuff whilst at the same time sounded and acted very grounded. It was everything you had ever been looking for in a conversation. 

“So I’m guessing you’re mom likes to work her magic from behind the curtain then.” Kara continued on without missing a beat. 

You fought back a guffaw, but it still managed to make its way out in the form of a chuckle. “Honestly that sounds very fitting for Lillian Luthor.”

Kara let the conversation go there, seeming to pick up the small tension that rose whenever you talked about your mother. Instead she busied herself with her food, wiggling slightly in her seat between bites of burger. 

You couldn’t help but watch her when she didn’t notice your stare. If this whole night was going to go to plan like those romance novels always do, you figured you could just revel in it.

This time you had ordered more than a drink. A burger had been placed down in front of you to go along with the tall pint of Guinness, something that caused Kara’s nose to crinkle at the thought of. 

“Have you ever even tried Guinness?” You asked after you had taken your first generous sip to your company’s clear dismay. 

Kara shook her head, “I hate the taste of beer.” 

“Ah, well Guinness is a different experience in and of itself.” You explained, “You have to try it at least once before heading home. It’s an unspoken rule when you come to visit this side of the world.” 

“Oh, well if it’s a rule then I guess I must.” 

You watched as Kara moved to grab your glass. “Is this okay?” 

At your nod, she pulled the pint to her before staring down at the drink’s dark and thick appearance. Without pulling too much of a face, she lifted the glass and took a sip. 

You damn near cackled at the face she made.

“Okay, yeah that’s even worse than I imagined it.” 

“Oh, you are such a tit!” You giggled, “It isn’t for the faint of heart though, especially if you don’t like the taste of beer.” 

Kara scoffed, “And here I was believing the whole ‘it’s its own experience’ bullshit. You know, you should really think about going into the car selling business.” 

You shake your head in amusement. “It’s not every day you get a chance to shoot your shot at one of the oldest jokes in the book.” 

“What book is that? Must be a an old fisherman’s tale or something because that was weak.” 

“Hey now, us Irish people do more than fish okay? We’re also potato farmers.” You giggle some more now being about half way through your second pint. 

“I used to tell my sister Alex that the tooth fairy was going to skip over her if she didn’t give up the controller so I could play super mario 64.” 

“Wow, you really just dated yourself there.” You laughed at Kara’s pout before continuing, “You must’ve been some bully, having the tooth fairy in your back pocket like that.” 

“It had its perks.” Kara said before popping a fry into her mouth. 

You shake your head in amusement. “I wish I had been that close with Lex. The closest we ever got was when we played each other in chess.” 

“I guess things are just funny like that. Sometimes your sibling is meant to be your best friend in some way or another.” 

“Or like a total stranger.” You chime in. It wasn’t often that you felt close to your older brother, or even thought of him really. Of course you cared about your family, you had a heart, but there was just something you had that they didn’t; perhaps it was the other way around. Either way, you had rarely even been in the same room as Lex growing up. He was much older and was always with your father, being groomed to take over the business when he stepped down. 

The warmest moments though were when you and Lex did click. Whether it was over a game of chess or when Lillian was in one of her moods and Lex would look at you and roll his eyes. It had always made you feel a little less alone and a bit more seen when he noticed how much you struggled to be like them. Somethings were better left abandoned however, or at least that’s how you liked to look at it. 

Lex had gone away to university and your father was all the way in Dublin. It meant you had spent a lot of undivided attention with Lillian growing up. It meant that you were the apple of her eye of scrutiny.

“Are you okay?” 

You felt a hand come to rest over yours, nearly covering it completely. You blinked and suddenly Kara was sitting before you again and you realize that you had zoned out in the middle of conversation. 

“Yeah, I’m fine thank you.” You say, pulling your hand back and gripping onto your glass. Taking a much needed drink, you fight to make eye contact with her. 

“I’m sorry if I said something to upset you.” Kara starts to say before you shake your head.

“Let’s just not talk about family, or mine rather.” 

You both finished your dinners in silence, you ordering and finishing a third glass of Guinness, making your stomach slosh and feel full. 

Kara offers to walk around again for awhile, stopping every now and again to weave in and out of stores and to window shop. 

“I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer than just this afternoon.” You finally say after some time of quiet useless back and forth. 

Kara looks over to you as you begin to pass the centre for contemporary arts. 

“Oh, let’s look and see what they have going on in there.” You say, taking her hand without thinking and pulling her towards the open doors. 

People were milling in and around the entrance, groups of people off to the side having a smoke and chatting over glowing phone screens. 

“Looks like a screening for animation.” 

Kara just follows behind, going wherever you are leading her to. 

Shortly thereafter you are standing in a rather packed room, all the chairs taken up for the screening. You lean back against the wall on the side of the room, awaiting Kara’s return with coffee. Between all of the walking and the cold air against your face, your buzz had mostly worn off leaving you with a bit of a headache.

Looking around the room you see mostly people in their mid to late forties and fifties, the white noise of conversation humming throughout. A large white screen hung from the rafters towards the front, a projector attached to the ceiling you presumed. 

“Here you go.” 

Kara had returned with your much needed caffeine, as you noticed her fancy coffee adorned with whipped cream and syrups. It was much different from the plain black coffee you had asked for yourself. You thank her with a smile, feeling the fullness of your stomach again when she returned it. 

“How’d you get that scar?” You find yourself asking, noticing for the umpteenth time the indent she had just above her left eye beside her eyebrow. 

“Oh, bike accident.” Kara says, raising a hand to touch it. “I got hit by a cab on my way to class.”

“That must’ve really hurt, to get hit there.”

“Not really, I mean yeah it hurt, but I was still coherent and all. No concussion or anything.” 

“Well aren’t you supergirl.” You say with a smile and a laugh. 

Not soon after the room’s lights dimmed and the screen at the front of the room lit up, an older woman who looked to be in her sixties came out to stand in front of it, greeting everyone with a warm good evening. She began to introduce the topic of the night, which was Carlos Santa, father of experimental animation in Colombia. 

The screening was absolutely fun as you found yourself laughing and tearing up at the respective moments. Throughout the show, you couldn’t help but notice Kara who had taken her place beside you against the wall, her shoulder just touching yours. Looking at her from time to time out of the corner of your eye, you had to smile when you saw that she was doing the same. 

You were very much aware of the space between you, or rather the lack there of. The back of her hand, like her shoulder, rested against the back of yours and all you wanted to do was breathe her in. She smelt of crisp cologne, something that you had to admit surprised you, and something else, a bit homely perhaps. Either way you felt yourself drinking her in from her being so close yet not close enough. 

You couldn’t believe that you were thinking these things about a complete stranger, but suddenly she wasn’t feeling like much of a stranger anymore.

10 hours before sunrise

The night continues to carry on slowly, bringing you just a bit further up the street to where people came pouring out of a club. Interested in seeing just exactly what all the people were leaving from, you find yourself grabbing Kara’s hand once more and dragging her towards the revolving doors.

“I didn’t take you for much of a clubbing girl.” Kara remarks from behind you. 

“Not as much anymore, no.” 

“Anymore?”

You enter the building fairly easily, showing your IDs when the bouncer asked for them. “I used to have a fake ID and would go clubbing with the other girls at my boarding school.” 

The bouncer waves you through, giving each of you a flourescent green band to go around your wrists.

Most of the congregation had dispersed when the DJ wrapped up their set, leaving the radio to play over the speakers. You both find a booth to slip into and you’re now back to where you started a few hours ago in Nice N’ Sleazy, or even further back in the train. 

“I’ll buy you a beer, you want a beer?” Kara asks you, her appearance showing you just how nervous she got out of nowhere.

“I’ll take a beer, sure why not.” You say with a chuckle. This night couldn’t get any more out of the ordinary so you roll with it. Booze always seemed to help nurse your risky decision making afterall. 

Kara mimes that she’ll be right back before heading towards the bar. You watch her go, eyes moving over the woman’s broad shoulders and strong frame. You wondered just how much she worked out, and if the night would take you to an ending where you would find out. It would be foolish not to admit just how attracted you were to her. Between Kara’s bright blue eyes that never seemed to leave yours and her lips usually curved upwards in a smile, you were a goner. 

Perhaps you were getting a bit ahead of yourself in believing that you might end up having sex with this woman. Afterall, you hadn’t the slightest clue in whether or not she even liked you back. Though the idea of falling into bed with someone new and unknown to you was a bit enticing. It had been quite sometime since you had spent the night with someone. 

You had made yourself believe for years that it wasn’t him and rather that it was you that was doing something wrong. It never occured to you that you were simply just not attracted to him in that sort of way. However you caught yourself from time to time convincing yourself that you were broken in that respect. Relationships were just never anything you particularly excelled in. It was all just easier to not think of it at all or rely on yourself to soothe the ache between your thighs.

Kara returned rather quickly, causing you to jump and blush from the topic that had been swimming around in your head. 

She slid a pint of Guinness over in front of you and placed her own colorful and fruity drink down in front of herself. You couldn’t help but find it endearing just how different you both were in certain respects.

“So how was the bar?” 

“Quite intimidating actually.” Kara laughed, shucking off her coat and stuffing it on the bench beside her. “The bartender gave me the dirtiest look when I asked if he had Guiness on tap.” 

You burst into laughter at Kara’s words, nearly bringing tears to your eyes. “You’re in Scotland darling, most people would switch their blood out for it if they could.” 

Kara’s face pinkened in embarrassment. “Just when I think I couldn’t act more like a tourist.” 

You shake your head in amusement, sucking down a generous sip of the thick stout whilst looking around the rather empty club. You had no idea why you wanted to come here, but it just seemed like another excuse to keep up your rather thrilling evening. 

“So I still don’t know too much about you, I mean I’m sure you know more about me just from the tabloids and Cat herself.” 

“What would you like to know?”

“You said you had a sister named Alex, what’s she like?” 

Kara’s eyes lit up at the mention of her sister. “She’s only the most badass FBI agent ever created for starters.

You find yourself chuckling, “Are you even supposed to be telling me that?”

Kara shrugged, “You don’t seem the type to kiss and tell.” 

Your eyes met hers over your respective drinks, a knowing look meeting your gaze. So she _did_ feel the same way about you. Well this just got a whole lot easier. 

“Luckily for you, I’m not.”

9 hours before sunrise

Soon after you suck down your drinks before last call, you find yourselves back out milling about the streets in warm silence. Kara spent the past hour telling you everything there was to know about her older sister as you listened with the utmost attention. You took notice to every smile and every distant look the blonde had throughout her ramblings, growing more and more enamored with every moment you spent with her.

“It’s getting pretty late.” Kara says casually, hands deep inside her pockets, kicking a rock here and there as she comes across them. 

You look to your watch to see it’s nearing just past ten o’clock. “So it is.” 

“If you want to tap out now you can, no pressure to spend the _whole_ night with me. This afternoon turned evening has been nothing but a pleasure, but I would understand you wanting to get some sleep before your trip tomorrow.” 

You smile softly at the gentlemanly gesture, but unfortunately it was falling on deaf ears. You hadn’t had any intention of sleeping tonight, not for a few hours now. You just weren’t exactly sure if it was the right choice to make. It was entirely unlike you to sleep with a total stranger, but nothing about this day has been much like you at all. Perhaps it was a good thing to branch out from the old you. If it meant sharing a bed with a gorgeous stranger, you hardly saw the harm in it. 

“Are you calling it quits on me already?” You tease, waiting to pick apart her reaction. 

“No! No of course not. I just don’t want you to feel obligated in staying with me if you no longer want to, or are tired. It does seem like you’re going to have a rather big day tomorrow and I didn’t want to impose.” 

“If I wanted a quiet night and a good night’s rest I wouldn’t have gotten off the train with you.” 

“Fair point.” 

“Besides, I still don’t know much about you at all. What am I going to tell my friends to convince them that spending a night in Glasgow with a complete stranger was worth the possible danger I put myself in?”

If Kara was going to call you a hypocrite for not indulging her with some of your own secrets, she doesn’t. Instead she stops you, moving to stand in front of you.

“What’re you doing?” 

“What would you tell your friends about tonight?”

You shrug, “I guess I would first have to tell them that I got a lot cooler since I last saw them a few days ago.”

“Cooler?”

“My best friend Sam, she’s always on my back about playing it safe. I don’t go out much, bury myself a lot in my work until I just crash at the office or on my couch at home. She’s always been trying to get me to be more outgoing I guess.” 

“Well if getting off a train with a complete stranger is considered outgoing, I guess she’d be pretty impressed with you tonight.” 

“I guess so.” 

All of a sudden Kara’s face is lighting up and she’s grinning from ear to ear in excitement, “Let’s pretend you’re calling her.”

“What?”

“Just pretend your picking up your phone and calling Sam.”

Your brows furrow before you start to giggle; all of a sudden you would do anything to amuse her. You turn your hand into an old school phone gesture and hold it up to your ear and begin imitating a phone ringing. 

Kara just watches you with this otherworldly wonder, making her own hand into a phone shape and picking up the call. “Hello?”

You begin to smile, “Sam, you’ll never believe what I’ve gotten myself into over here.” 

“Are you actually going to sleep in a bed tonight? Maybe stay up past midnight?”

You squint your eyes at Kara, hating just how perfectly she was capturing Sam without knowing much about her. “Very funny. No, I met someone.” 

“Is it a lady someone?” 

“She is, yeah.” You almost forget your little game as you look across into Kara’s crystal blues.

“So? What’d you call me for Luthor?” 

“I met someone and I got off the train with her in Glasgow, we’re spending the night together.”

“Are you crazy?” 

“Probably.” After a pause you continue, “But that’s just the thing Sam, normally I would kill to get to my hotel a day early and abuse the availability of a clay mask and a full body massage.”

“So what made you get off the train with her?” Kara asks, the conversation beginning to sound more and more between you and not this imaginary phone call you were pretending to have. 

“She convinced me.”

“And how’s that?”

“She knew exactly who I was and didn’t even flinch.” Kara’s brows furrow at your complete raw honesty; you brush it off. “Plus she knows French and she’s kinda cute I guess.” 

“Kinda huh?”

“Yeah she has these devastating blue eyes. The kind you can get lost in if you’re not too careful. She has nice full pink lips too.” 

Kara gasps, “Did you kiss her?”

“Not yet no, but I’ve been thinking about it.” You drop your hand after that, imitating the hanging up of the phone.

Kara stands dumbfounded, her hand still pressed up against her ear. 

“Would that be okay?” You ask her, taking a step closer but not wanting to take advantage of the situation if you had been reading it wrong. 

Kara nods, licking her lips and allowing her hand to fall just as you take the final steps to pull her in and kiss her. She was as soft as she looked is your first thought, lips moulded together beneath a streetlamp on a nearly empty street. You could feel her hands slowly moving up to your elbows as you cradled her jaw in your own, deepening the kiss ever so slightly. 

When you pull away, Kara’s eyes are still closed for a moment more and you smile. Everything about this night was slowly falling into place, and you were starting to wish it would never end. 

“Remind me why we didn’t do that sooner?” Kara asks as her eyes flutter open and you chuckle. 

“Because we were both being too polite to assume. At least that’s why I didn’t.” 

“What made you realize that I would want to kiss you then?”

“Back in the club, you just gave me this look and I just sort of caught on.” 

“And here I thought I’ve been giving you eyes all night.” 

You feel yourself starting to blush and lightly shove her shoulder. “Next time, just tell a girl you wanna kiss her and not leave her guessing.”

“Note taken.” Kara smiles warmly, it is your favorite of the faces she has given you thus far. “I’d like to try that again then.” She steps towards you to refill the space as quickly as you had left it. 

Suddenly your stomach is swooping as her mouth fits over yours once again, closing your eyes and leaning into her. It is probably one of the best kisses you’ve ever shared if you’re going to be honest. It definitely envelopes the tiniest little flame James and you had, if you could even call it one. It reminded you a bit of the kisses you’d share with Lucy back in boarding school after lights went out and you knew none of the nuns would check up on you.

You had always known you were into girls without a shadow of a doubt. Lucy opened a lot of realities for you your last two years of school. Then you went off to college in the states and you had even more experiences that would make you blush if they ever came up in conversation, but it all seemed just out of reach for you. Your mother had always made you believe that it wasn’t fit to be a part of your “lifestyle” as a business woman. If you wanted to make her balk and sully the Luthor name, you had to say goodbye to your future as a CEO of Luthor Corporations. 

It was why you had settled for James. He had been nice enough, at least in the beginning. Your mother liked him, saying his “diversity” would definitely bring good publicity to the family name. You grew to loathe your mother after those remarks. 

None of this was important now however as you leaned into what was probably the most beautiful girl you had ever met. The kiss unlike the first was weakening your knees and you had to pull away just as Kara had started to introduce tongue. 

“Are you okay?” Kara asks as you pull back, her eyes searching your face for any sign of regret you might have. “I’m sorry if that was too soon or maybe not what you wanted?” She’s clearly nervous, wanting to follow your movement but taking a step of her own back instead. 

You quickly shake your head to reassure her that you are exactly where you want to be, doing just the thing you were hoping you’d be able to do. “It’s not that, trust me there’s nothing I’d rather be doing right now.”

“But?” Kara asks, beginning to look small in her coat, hands stuffed deep into the pockets causing her shoulders to curve into her frame. 

“But we’re on a street corner, and I’d rather not give people something to honk at.” 

Kara flushes pink as she realizes her surroundings. “Oh, yeah you’re probably right.” 

You think of an idea for where you can go and grab at her hand, “Come on, I have something to show you.” 

“I thought you didn’t know the area?” 

“Maybe I know a few things, can’t be too cautious getting off a train with a complete stranger these days.” 

“Oh right, silly me.” After a moment of following you blindly Kara continues, “So what else don’t I know about you? Gotta say I don’t know much about you that the tabloids don’t already know.” 

“What _do _you know about me?”__

__“Well you graduated at the top of your class at NCU, took over L Corp in National City at the age of 21. You have a dual degree in Biochem and Physics, with a minor in Spanish. You speak six languages including English and you own two, possibly three apartment complexes in the city alone.”_ _

__“I meant what do you know about me that the tabloids _don’t_ know.” You look over to her, bumping shoulders. “Come on, show off some of those journalist chops you’ve got. What’ve you been writing in that journal tonight, I’ve seen you take it out a few times now.” _ _

__“Oh it’s nothing.” Kara brushes it off, not quite looking you in the eye._ _

__“You’re telling me there’s nothing you’ve learned about me in the time we’ve spent together?”_ _

__“Well, not nothing no. I just, I don’t think it’s really my place to pry.”_ _

__“Try me.”_ _

__“Well I imagine you and your mother don’t get along, from what I’ve learned from Cat she is quite the devil incarnate.”_ _

__You nod, “Go on.”_ _

__“You take your work very seriously, so seriously that you allow your social life to be stilted. You’re still nursing your heartache over your last relationship and you’re not exactly sure why you got off the train with me, and it scares you a little bit.”_ _

__“You know more than you let on then.” You say impressed._ _

__Kara shrugs, “Like I said, not my place to intrude.”_ _

__“Yes, but it is your place to tonight.”_ _

__“I’m sorry?”_ _

__You see the park coming up on your left and pull Kara closer as you wait for the light to change so you can cross the street. “Tonight we’re just strangers to each other, well I wish I was more of a stranger to you, but this life doesn’t really allow that luxury.” You look down at your hands clasped together and feel your stomach swoop yet again at the sight. Your rings entangled with her bare knuckles, the metal of her watch pressed into the flesh of your wrist. “Tonight I want you to take advantage of the fact that we’re probably never going to see each other after this. I want this to be as real for you as it is to me, and if you want to know more about me than I want that too.”_ _

__“I’m not quite sure what you’re getting at here.” Kara says skeptically, her mouth falling into a bit of a frown at your mention of never seeing each other again._ _

__“This could be like a sort of interview for you if you’d like. Something Cat Grant would swoon over and definitely give you a step up in your career for if you’d like.”_ _

__Kara is suddenly very much aware of what you were getting at. Like she said before, you were scared and were pushing your feelings of the kiss and the hand holding to a sort of business front. “I didn’t ask for you to get off the train with me because I knew who you were.” She looks hurt that you would even think that, but again you were just strangers to one another._ _

__“I wouldn’t blame you if you did, this is quite the serious inside scoop people would pay hundreds of thousands for.”_ _

__Kara shook her head, “Nothing I was writing in my journal had anything to do with the things I’ve learned about you, that is only for me to know. I would never sell or give that part of you away to the world. It can get pretty cruel sometimes, but I think you already know that.”_ _

__The light turns green to instruct you to cross the street but you are stuck in place, staring at this stranger as if she held the key to all of your secrets, and was choosing to keep it for herself rather than tossing it out in the open for the world to catch. Feelings were coming in fast and you wanted to blame it on the late hour and the rush of someone new, but you had a feeling that this was more than that. That Kara might be more._ _

__“I was strictly writing in my journal about the venues we’ve been going to all night. I can show you if you’d like.” Kara continues, her eyes pleading for you to believe her._ _

__“That’s alright.” You assure her, squeezing her hand tightly. “I believe you, but honestly you’re as crazy as me then.”_ _

__“Can’t say that’s really something to be ashamed of.”_ _

__You roll your eyes looking to the traffic light that has since turned back to red telling you to wait till the next turn. “You are truly something else.” You find yourself saying, “Just when I had lost hope of ever truly running into someone who didn’t care who I was or what my name meant, and here you are.”_ _

__“Here I am.”_ _

__The idea scared you and made you a bit dizzy, to think that you would find someone on a train in Glasgow of all places, who lived in National City just as you did, and was staring down the barrel right at you and wasn’t looking away. It was terrifying._ _

__“So where are you taking me anyways? Should I have my pepper spray ready just in case?”_ _

__“I don’t know, you might. Depends on what type of people lurk around a park late at night in the dead of November.”_ _

__“And what exactly _are_ we doing lurking around in a park late at night in the dead of November?” Kara repeats your words, smiling that warm smile once more and you find it hard to look away to cross the street._ _

__“Like I said, I have something I want to show you. It’s definitely worth a few pictures at the least.”_ _

__A few moments later you are both taking the steps down into Garnethill Park, and just across the walkway is this giant mural running along the back ends of all of the surrounding buildings. During the day they were at their finest with no doubt, but under the illumination of the street lamps, it held a bit of charm that it wouldn’t have at any other time._ _

__“Oh, wow.”_ _

__You look over at Kara as she stares memorized at the mural, a depiction of a big mouth and mother earth taking up all of her attention. As you look further along to the right you see eyes and more of the solar system._ _

__“This is beautiful.” Kara whispers, pulling out her phone to take a few photos. “How did you know this was here?”_ _

__You shrug, trying to not act so smug. “I may have wandered off once or twice while the private jet was fueling up.”_ _

__Kara looks over at you before taking notice to the geometric work that ran up to the top half of the building beside the mural. She takes a few more photos as you watch, happy to see her so amazed. The art was truly something else, but you have seen it before. Who knows how much longer you had to look at her._ _

__It wasn’t much, the mural, but showing Kara made it feel like it was far more than what it was. This whole night had felt that way. If you hadn’t gotten off the train with her, you would’ve just wound up in a hotel like you said. You would’ve already been fast asleep and probably having nightmares of what tomorrow would surely bring. This was much more palatable, and you couldn’t find yourself ever regretting it._ _

__“We should take a picture together in front of it.” Kara suggests, grabbing at your hand and beginning to pull you closer towards the mural._ _

__“You would really want a picture to document this? Haven’t you taken enough already?”_ _

__“Yeah, but none of them are with you, and though this mural is pretty spectacular, you are what I’m going to want to remember about this night.”_ _

__As if Kara wasn’t going to get laid after this, she definitely was now._ _

__You stand beside her as she tries different heights to take the selfie from. The flash goes off bringing a sparkle to your eyes that threatens to make them water behind your contacts. She takes another one with her arm around you. The third one, as if you were in a photobooth, you press your lips to Kara’s cheek as the picture is taken._ _

__Pulling away you chuckle at the red lipstick you leave behind, taking the cuff of your coat and turning it into a smudge on her face. She turns to you as you giggle at the bright red smudge, pulling your hand into her chest to have you closer._ _

__“I really want to kiss you again.”_ _

__“So why don’t you?”_ _

__Kara smiles, leaning in to do just exactly that._ _

____

8 hours before sunrise

You offer to rent a hotel room for the rest of the night to get out of the cold and for other reasons that were easily implied with what turned into a pretty heated make out in the park.

Kara followed behind you as you both giggled and lightly jogged to the closest hotel that was half a block away. Holding hands the entire way, Kara stopped you once or twice for another kiss before continuing on into the hotel to rent a room for the night. 

After heading upstairs, requesting a bottle of wine to meet you both there, you both slipped out of your coats and scarves, hats and gloves. 

“This is a pretty nice hotel.” Kara remarks as she sits down to unlace her boots.

“Well if I had known I was going to be staying the night in Glasgow I would’ve booked an even nicer one.” You catch Kara rolling her eyes at you saying this, shaking her head with the smallest smile.

“I have no doubt about that.” 

A knock on the door a moment later causes you to let the teasing tone go, as you turn away and open the door to receive the bottle of wine and glasses. You slip the hotel worker a bit of cash for the trouble and bid him a good night before shutting the door and turning back into the room. 

Kara has since removed her boots, sitting cross legged on the love seat and watching you. “I can’t say that I expected the night to go as well as it has.” She says it as though she’s thinking aloud, “And it could stop here if you want, I expect nothing from this kind gesture by the way. I would’ve been fine sleeping in the train station.” She bites her lip, eyes squinting behind glasses, following your every move as you pour the two glasses of wine. “I guess I just want you to know that I didn’t ask you to get off the train with me because I wanted to sleep with you.” 

“Who said anyone is sleeping with anyone?” You tease, giving her a knowing look that you were in fact joking. 

Kara blushes bright red anyways, a hand reaching out to take the glass of wine. “That’s not what I meant, well I mean yes I want to sleep with you, especially after that kiss, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to either.”

You shake your head in amusement, sitting down beside her on the couch. “We are literally sitting in a hotel room right now that I bought because I want to sleep with you.” You chuckle a bit, “How many times am I going to have to say I want to be here.”

“You’re right, I just, I’ve never quite done anything like this before.”

“What, schmooze a girl and walk around the city with her all day without knowing anything about her the day before?”

“Well, not _anything_.”

“You know what I mean.” 

Kara shrugged, leaning back on the couch and clutching her wine glass to her chest. “I guess I just never thought you would say yes. I mean, you’re Lena Luthor, the most gorgeous woman in National City. Why would you even think about getting off a train with some wannabe journalist?”

“You know, I’m still not exactly sure why I did.” You say honestly, looking over at her. “I guess I just needed to feel a little bit less like myself today, or at least who I used to be. Before L-Corp I was just a college girl, I mean sure my family consisted of multi-billionaires, but I was just Lena. Then when I got the job as CEO, all of that sort of withered away I guess.” 

“Why? I mean, why forget yourself that much?”

“Well, it’s funny what a job like mine will do to you. Especially one that you didn’t necessarily pick.” 

“I can’t even imagine. I mean, Cat isn’t always my favorite person, but I like where I’m at. I can’t really picture myself doing anything else.” 

“Don’t get me wrong, most days I like what I do. I like having the seat at the table I do, and I enjoy being hands on in the lab. It’s just on those rare days where I don’t want to get out of bed, I sometimes like to think about what I would be without the Luthor name clouding my every move.” 

“You were adopted right?” Kara asks suddenly, causing you to look up at her curiously. 

“Can’t say it was easy growing up with a family such as the Luthors, but I have to be grateful for them too. They funded me to be the person I am today. I’m not exactly sure I would be as strong of a woman in my industry if I hadn’t been.” 

“Something tells me I find that a bit hard to believe.” 

You clear your throat, changing the subject. “So you haven’t said much about your break up. Who was he?”

Kara pushes her glasses back up the slope of her nose, taking a more generous sip than the last few for some confidence, and perhaps a bit of nonchalance. “I could say the same about yours.” 

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re Lena Luthor remember? There’s not much the tabloids don’t know about you, as you put it.”

“Right. Well, James and I broke up over a year ago, I’m pretty sure the public has picked it apart as much as it can be.” 

“Yes, but it still doesn’t mean any of it was true. I mean, did you really throw your laptop at his head?”

“Oh god, no.” 

“See? Just because they picked it apart, doesn’t mean it actually happened the way they think it did.” 

You start to build the nerve to get it all out there, and notice that this was Kara spinning the question away from herself. “You first.”

Kara smirks, tapping her forefinger against her glass. “His name was Mike, and we had been together for two years. Everything was going fine, he supported me in all the ways I needed to be, and he listened for the most part.” She takes a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, “The thing was though, there was something missing. I couldn’t really figure it out at the time, and months went by of him trying to convince me of what I needed, some ideas worse than others, and so he proposed. I guess it was his last hail mary for our relationship. I don’t think it was actually what he wanted, and it definitely wasn’t my idea of the future. So I broke up with him, and I went to a bar to get shit faced and that’s when it clicked.”

You were, figuratively speaking, on the edge of your seat listening to Kara’s every word. 

“Of course it didn’t necessarily make sense until the following morning after too many drinks and a stranger sneaking out of my sister’s flat, but it did make sense when I realized that that stranger was a woman and my sister wasn’t home.” She takes another sip of liquid courage before setting the glass down on the coffee table. “It was the first time I ever slept with a woman. It was the first time I even kissed a woman. So I of course proceed to freak out and call Alex and demand she come home as soon as possible and I bawled in her lap and told her all about Mike and whoever I slept with and it had all started to fall into place. Alex of course understood all of it, I mean there isn’t a more perfect person than her to get it. She told me that nothing about the night before decides who I am. That because I slept with a woman didn’t change who I was, and it didn’t mean that I would do it again or not do it. It wasn’t that I was afraid to be a lesbian. It was because the woman who I looked in the mirror at the day before and who stared back at me now was someone who was a little bit happier than before.”

You continued to listen in silence, feeling everything that Kara was saying. At one point that was you, the girl Kara was talking about. You understood the fear and the wonder and joy that came with it all. 

“So I took some time to really think about things, and I went on a date with a colleague of Alex’s, and that was that. I mean, I didn’t end up dating her in the least, we were fuck buddies at most, but she really helped me settle things in my head. I realized that for all the things Mike got wrong, it didn’t mean that I was wrong. It was just that the things he wanted with me, were things I wanted with a woman.” Kara lets out a heavy sigh then, looking over at you with the clearest most honest eyes you had ever seen. “And that’s it. I’m not perfect by any means, but after awhile, I figured I needed some time away to really think about things. To try and decide what I want to do next.” 

“Is there a consensus yet?” 

“There might be, yeah.” She smiles warmly at you, face completely relaxed as she picks back up her drink and motions to you. 

“So what about you and James? Similar story perhaps?”

“You wouldn’t be terribly off, no.” You pour yourself another glass of wine then as you continue to speak. “We just didn’t ever really click. I mean, it made sense to be together. A famous photographer, wealthy in his own way and charming of course. I guess it just felt like it was the next step, to have someone on my arm during all of the fundraisers and someone to rub my feet at the end of a long work day.” You look back at Kara who of course, just like you were, was already completely invested in your storytelling. “The thing was though, he never did rub my feet. He rarely went to any of the fundraisers with me, and if he did he was being asked all of his own questions so it wasn’t really that he was on my arm at all. It’s funny how even though you’re a CEO for one of the biggest and leading corporations in the scientific world, you’re still only really seen as arm candy. It started small, James never really understood what it was I did at work all day, but he tried to of course. He would bicker here and there over mundane things, and somethings that were more important. He was ready to settle down and start thinking about marriage, having a family of our own and moving out of the city. He didn’t really ever stop to think about whether that was exactly what I wanted though. Things were never good where they were, we always had to be moving towards a bigger goal, as if we were trying to prove something to someone. I guess that was what he was taught from a young age, I suppose, but it wasn’t really what I wanted; at least with him. I guess it always just seemed inevitable with him that we would break up, so I never really got my hopes up for much.” By the time you were done saying all of this, you notice that you have already downed half your glass in between. You shake your head, chuckling a bit. “It was a shoe I threw at him by the way, a black stiletto, right off my foot. Just missed his head too, it hit the wall right beside him.”

“I’m guessing he deserved that one too.” Kara chuckles along with you. “I used to work with him, I could beat him up for you, you know.” 

You cock your head to the side in wonder, “You used to work with James?”

Kara nods, “He was best friends with my cousin at one point too.”

You find yourself a bit lost with words. “How did we never meet, it’s like we just missed each other.” 

Kara smiles, “Well, it seemed like we got a second shot. Looks like it’s turning out pretty well too.” 

“So it does.” 

Kara scoots closer as you finish off the rest of your glass, before leaning into her. Your lips meet somewhere in the middle as you blindly set your glass down on the table in front of you. You feel Kara smile into the kiss, her hands landing on your waist and sort of sitting there waiting for instructions or an invitation. 

So many thoughts about tomorrow were suddenly swimming around in your head like a dam had broken loose, but you were willing to silence them all with Kara so close. 

“Bed, now.” You breathe through one kiss into another, hands moving up the back of her shirt to pull it up and over her head. 

Kara giggled, pulling away and helping disentangle her hair from the half discarded shirt. “Yes, ma’am.” 

Falling into bed with Kara was evidently easier than you had planned it to be, following her down onto the mattress as you hovered over her, straddling her waist. She pulled you down so she could kiss you once more, her hands making their way up the center of your back to release your bra from beneath your shirt, the pads of her fingers smoothing over the indents from where the clasp had been snuggly pressing against you for the better half of the day. 

Sighing into the kiss, you parted Kara’s lips with a nip at her bottom lip and licked into her mouth to pull a moan from her chest. 

You shivered at her touch and her tongue meeting your own. This was the easy part, this you could do. It was the after part that scared you.

5 hours before sunrise

You rolled over onto your side away from the snoring woman beside you, and looked out the window at the night sky. Tonight had gone all kinds of ways before it ended here, and if it ended like this, it was really up to the both of you to decide. The idea of slipping out now and grabbing a taxi to the small warehouse that held your family’s jet, was a bit more appealing than having to actually say goodbye in a few short hours time. However, the thought of leaving this warm bed and soft yet taut woman who lay asleep beside you was frankly making your stomach uneasy.

In just the short time you had spent with Kara, you were finding it harder and harder to imagine never seeing her again. Everything about her from her bright blue eyes to the dimples and knowing smirk, strong arms and tight abs, it was enough to make any smart woman a bit light headed. Even more so when a body like that had a mind like Kara’s behind it. She was truly something else, from the way she made you feel like there couldn’t possibly be anything more important in the room than the words coming out of your mouth, to the way she made you feel with just a look. Of course the sex was amazing too, you could never discount that. 

Your eyes flick down to the leather bound journal on the nightstand and feel yourself grow increasingly intrigued in just what Kara had written about tonight. You bite your lip, deep in thought on having just the tiniest of peeks when you feel Kara begin to stir behind you from her short sleep. 

Hands reached out to touch you, finger tips running up the groove of your spine as lips found their way to meet the hands at the back of your neck. 

“You could look if you want.” Kara’s words come out just above a whisper, the lips now grazing closer towards your ear. “Nothing to hide from those gorgeous eyes of yours.” 

You debate it in your head, almost giving into the permission before deciding against it. You lean back into her, your hands blindly searching behind you for skin to touch. “I believe you.” 

“Oh, but Miss. Luthor, aren’t you curious?” Kara teases as you turn around to face her, seeing just exactly how soft her eyes are as she looks at you. 

“Somethings are worth the wait.” 

“As I recall, that is not what you were saying a few hours ago when-”

You cut her off by placing a hand over her mouth, muffling the last word of her now garbled sentence. “Shut up.” 

Kara leans into you, “Gladly.” You sigh into her mouth as she kisses you, pressing you back down into the sheets of the bed.

1 hour before sunrise

You both wake up at a respectable hour before needing to head back to the train station where you would go your separate ways.

You take turns showering, suddenly very shy of each other’s bodies as if the night before hadn’t happened at all. It became very sobering to you as you stood beneath the spray of the shower head, just how little time you had left together. In just a few short hours you would be in Cork, and Kara would be on a plane back to the states. Whether you would see her again was unknown. 

Not wanting to speak of the moment you both were dreading, instead you both got dressed into fresh clothes and headed down the stairs into the hotel lobby to hand in your room keys. 

“So, are we going to talk about last night?” Kara asked as you headed out onto the quiet street of a city that had yet to fully wake. 

“What is there to say?” You ask nervously. 

“Well I don’t know, I mean I really enjoyed myself and I was hoping you felt the same way.” 

You think back to the night before, moments flipping by like film negatives. Of course you enjoyed yourself, and even more importantly you enjoyed Kara. “I did.” 

A look of relief washes over Kara’s face as you both begin to walk back along your trek from before, retracing your steps as if you could rewind time itself. If only a memory could last longer before it was over. 

“I would like to see you again.” Kara says unsure, her tone slightly off, the confidence from the day before completely going missing in this moment.

“I would like that.”  
“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

“Okay, cool.” Kara shifts her bag higher on her shoulder as she looks to you for answers. “How about we make a plan to meet again in a year?”

“A year?” You could feel your eyebrows fly up into your hairline at how long it would be for a year to roll by. Who’s to say she wouldn’t forget you by tomorrow, or that you would even feel the desire you had for her now in a year’s time?

“You’re right, too long.” Kara’s face shows just exactly how hard she is thinking, the creases in her forehead deepening. “What about six months?”

Six months, well at least it wasn’t a year. “That would make it May. Where should we meet?”

“Back here if you want? Or we could meet up in National City even?”

And why did that have to be six months from now? You couldn’t find it in yourself to ask the obvious. Instead you smile, “How about you give me your number, and I’ll call you when I get settled back in at home?”

Kara blushes, “That could work.” 

You hand over your phone so she can punch her digits in along with her name and an emoji winking with its tongue sticking out.

“Cute.”

“I thought so.” Kara shrugs as she hands back over your phone, walking so closely beside you, your shoulders brush every now and again. 

“So are you excited to see your brother at least?” Kara asks you about a half a block later, looking over at you every few minutes to make sure you were still there.

“A few years ago I would’ve said yes.” 

“But?”

“But now, it just hurts to see him if that makes sense. He reminds me of all the good parts of my father, and all the worst parts of my mother.” 

“Sounds like a real gem.” 

“He used to be.” 

“I’m sorry he didn’t turn out to be what you needed.” 

“I gave up the idea of a family a long time ago. It just seems that it was never meant for me I guess.” 

“I find that hard to believe.” 

“Yeah well, you’ve only known me for less than twenty four hours.” 

“Still, it’s been the best hours of my life. I feel like I know more about you than most acquaintances get to.” 

“Probably because you caught me on a day where my guard was already down.” 

“I’m sure I’m supposed to find that as a good thing, but I can’t help but hope more people get to know you like I do; at least all the non-sexual parts that is.” 

“I didn’t take you to be the jealous type.” You tease, bumping shoulders with her so as to draw away the attention that was placed on you.

“I’m usually not, but with you I think I would find it impossible not to be.” 

You knew this conversation was going to end shortly, and your phone now sat hot in the pocket of your jeans, practically burning your thigh with the weight of one more phone number in its contacts. Yesterday you couldn’t wait to get through this weekend and get back to the cold quiet of your empty apartment, and now you didn’t ever want the day to end. You would happily stay in Glasgow if it meant never having to give up the blue eyes that were captivated by you.

“Are you excited to get back home to your mother and sister?” You ask her, trying to keep the conversation light.

“Of course. Alex is going to have to have a drink or two for the amount of torture I’m going to put her through talking her ear off about you.” 

“You would tell her about me?” 

“Sure, I would tell everyone about you if I could, but I wouldn’t unless you wanted me to of course.” 

“You can tell her. Though I’m not sure what she will think of you skipping off to Europe and sleeping with a complete stranger.”

“Hey now, we did more than just sleep.” Kara winks, causing you to blush. “Though those parts of the night are just for my memory only.”

“A woman after my own heart.” You laugh, trying to not allow yourself to dwell on the night you spent tangled in the sheets with her. 

“If you will allow me to be, yes.” Kara says more seriously now as the train station comes into sight a block ahead of you.

You feel the weight of reality stepping in and causing your gut to sink ever so heavily down to your knees. This was the hardest part you would have to face this weekend. Not the reading of your father’s will, not your mother’s gruesome and cold stare from across the room, not Lex reminding you of what could’ve been if he had tried a little bit harder, but this. Saying goodbye to a possible new beginning in exchange of not knowing if you will ever meet again. You could promise all you like, but you weren’t sure if you would ever want to pop this bubble. 

Everything about the past day had been magical for the lack of a better word. You weren’t too sure you wanted to sully it with the real world’s horrors. 

“Well I guess this is it.” You say as you reach the station, stopping in front of her so as to get one last really good look at her. You were beginning to think this is where it needed to end, not that you wanted it to be, but that it would be for the best if it was.

“So you’ll call me.” Kara said, as if to remind you of the promise you had made.

“I’ll call you.” You lied, holding back everything inside of you that just wanted to hurl yourself into her arms and never let go. This was it, and you needed to treat it as such.

Kara however was as smart as you had found her to be, taking your words at face value like you had meant them. Her eyes were the clearest you had ever seen, which is why you had to avoid the pain that was in them now as you held out a hand to shake. 

“Safe travels.” You said as a form of farewell.

Kara looked down at your hand, before taking it in hers, the roughness of her palm sliding against the smoothness of your own. “I hope everything goes well for you Lena, tonight and all other nights.” When you were the loneliest, you knew. 

You let go first, feeling her slip right through your fingertips like you were allowing her to. You couldn’t stay and wait any longer for the impending knowledge that this would be the biggest mistake you would ever make. 

“I have to go.” You jutted a thumb out behind you, “They’re going to be waiting for me.”

Kara nodded solemnly, “Take care, Lena Luthor.”

“Goodbye, Kara Danvers.” You turn and walk away then, from a possible future where you might not be the calmly collected Luthor you had learned to be. Some things just weren’t meant for everyone, and a happy ending just wasn’t in your cards. A happy ending wouldn’t save the world, only yours.

4 years later

“So tell us how you found each other again?” Ruby asks from her place on the floor, bundled up in her pajamas with a full belly of Thanksgiving dinner.

“Rubes come on, you’ve heard the story a million times over.” Sam teases from her place beside Alex on the sofa, mug of mulled wine in both of their hands. 

“But it’s tradition for Lena and Kara to tell their story after dinner!”

“A stupid tradition if you ask me.” Alex remarks from behind a hand so as not to earn glaring daggers from her sister.

Sam bumps into her, leaning her head down onto her girlfriend’s shoulder. “You have to admit it’s a much cooler story than ours.” 

“So sorry not everyone gets to live a fairy tale life.” Alex grumbles before taking a much needed sip from her mug, she was going to need it if she was going have to listen to this story for the hundredth time and _still_ get crap from everyone else in the room.

You chuckle from your spot beside Kara, leaning back into her as you took in the whole room full of people. Close friends that you had learned to trust over the years, family you would’ve never known you could have if you hadn’t jumped. 

“Well you’re Aunt Lena left me all sad and mopey at the train station. I thought I wasn’t ever going to see her again! I mean it would’ve been easy enough to look her up once we were both back in National City, but I knew she wouldn’t want me to, so I spent the rest of the day sulking.”

“You missed your flight?” Ruby chimed in, feigned shock in her voice.

Kara laughed at the girl’s antics. “Yup. I knew I couldn’t leave, I had to give it one more day to see if she came back. I figured she wouldn’t, but I wanted to wait till morning just to be sure.” 

You watch as the fireplace reflected its light out onto the floor, dancing across the little girl’s face in wonderment as it bathed the rest of the room in a warm glow. It was your turn to tell your part of the story. “After I went to the reading of my father’s will, I went back to my hotel but I couldn’t fall asleep. I laid there for quite some time debating the odds of Kara still being in Glasgow. I was more afraid of her actually being there than if she hadn’t been.”

“That’s pretty weird to be scared of the good outcome.” Ruby remarked. 

You nodded, “Sometimes the easier things are the hardest. It would have been so easy to stay with Kara, or bring her to Ireland with me, but I couldn’t.”

“Because of your mother.” 

“Yes, but mostly because of myself.”

4 years ago

You practically threw yourself out of the jet when it landed back on Scottish soil, clambering down the steep stairs and barreling yourself into the backseat of your driver’s car.

“Take me to Charing Cross station.” You order, quickly wiping the sweat from your palms onto your slacks and rummaging around in your bag to re-apply your lipstick. 

Shortly thereafter, your driver was pulling up beside the train station, announcing your arrival over his shoulder before placing the car in park. “Should I wait for you Miss Luthor, or should I take a lap around the block.”

You were barely thinking straight, genuinely not caring in the slightest what he did. “Take a lap, I’ll call you if I need you back sooner.” 

“Yes, Ma’am.” 

You slip out of the car, immediately taking in your surroundings. She had to be here, and if she wasn’t, well at least you tried. You weren’t sure you could stomach this again if she had left. You couldn’t do this a second time. 

You quickly look around, checking all of the benches outside before heading into the small station. She had to be here. 

Once inside, it didn’t take you long after to find her, curled into herself on a bench against the far wall, knees tucked up against her chin with her eyes pressed into her jeans. She looked as though she could be asleep if it weren’t for the slight tremble of her shoulders. 

“Kara?”

Her head snapped up at your voice, blue eyes now rimmed with red from soreness. She looked as though she had been crying for quite some time, as if she couldn’t get herself to stop. Her face flashed disbelief and sadness before it came to rest at relief. Jumping up to meet you halfway, she fell into your arms causing you to drop your bag at your feet. 

“You came back.” She sobbed into your shoulder, her arms nearly crushing you against her.

“I did.” You hug her just as tightly, breathing her in and accepting your fate as someone who was giving something good a shot. “I did.” You repeat, a smile growing across your face as your hand smoothed over Kara’s back to soothe her crying hiccups. 

You were finally going to do something for yourself, and in that moment it was allowing someone to care for you in a way you hadn’t allowed anyone to care for you before, and it was terrifying. You could handle it though, some things you were beginning to find out, are worth the risk.

**Author's Note:**

> So this took about a month to write and convince myself it was a story worth telling. I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> As always, you can find me here: thisismyhalfroomcutie.tumblr.com


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